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Cartoon Network Helps Scratch the Creative Itch

3 Dec 2015 - By TW Staff

Today, Cartoon Network (CN) announced the launch of a series of free coding tutorials for kids featuring characters, scenes and sounds from its popular show We Bare Bears. The We Bare Bearstutorials and sample projects result from a new collaboration between CN and Scratch, a coding platform and online community encouraging children to create and share interactive stories, games and animations.

CN worked with the Scratch team at the MIT Media Lab as part of its ongoing commitment to encouraging kids to learn more about science, technology, engineering, arts and math (also known as STEAM). Through the We Bare Bears tutorials, children learn to snap together Scratch’s graphical programming blocks to make characters move, jump, dance, talk and interact with one another. The tutorials encourage users to think critically and solve problems in order to bring the characters to life.

"Scratch’s technology enables kids to unleash their creative ideas and express themselves,” said Christina Miller, President and General Manager of Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and Boomerang, in the announcement. “By giving kids access to these beloved characters so that they can create their own stories, we can also encourage collaboration and help build important skills for their future."

"We see coding as a new form of literacy,” added Mitchel Resnick, LEGO Papert Professor of Learning Research at MIT and head of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group. "Coding is not just a set of technical skills but a new type of personal expression that is valuable for everyone, much like writing."